Port Koube is a very large bay, almost totally enclosed, right in the middle of Ile Ouen. The only residents are sea eagles, herons, lots of other birds, fish, corals, and a wide variety of other sea creatures. Plus, from time to time, the occasional yacht.

I don't know why they called it Port Koube; big ships rarely, if ever, come here and I don' think they ever did. But of course they could. It's big enough and deep enough for a medium sized ship and very well protected from winds of all directions.

There are only a couple of places where a small yacht can anchor. Most of the bay is either too deep or the bottom is a tangled mound of very fine branching coral; the kind of bottom where an anchor won't hold but will cause massive damage to the corals that live in this calm, protected environment.

This was the second time we surveyed the bay, looking for places where a yacht can safely drop the hook; looking with side-scan sonar for areas of smooth, coral free mud in less than 15 meters of water.

As before we only found two good locations for anchoring, one perfect for very strong west winds, the other excellent for east to south west winds and OK for any winds. We found some interesting snorkeling spots and places to go ashore and explore.

One good feature was a new mobile phone antenna providing full 3G coverage to the area. Made it easy to upload the image this morning.

New Caledonia is the closest South Pacific Island to Australia and New Zealand. It is a French Territory and although the official language is French the culture is a blend of Melanesian, European, Polynesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian, and more. There is one large mountainous island called Grande Terre and 6 smaller islands - the three Loyalty Islands, Belep and the Isle of Pines.The islands are remarkably unpopulated and there are vast areas of wilderness. There are hundreds of kilometers of walking treks, camp grounds, more than 42 parks and reserves, and crystal clear rivers with sparkling waterfalls. Almost one third of the population is located in the capital city of Noumea. Nickel mining is the primary industry and is the major contributor to the high standard of living in the country. Grande Terre is surrounded by the second largest barrier reef in the world and the protected lagoon created by this barrier reef is the largest in the world. Listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008, the lagoon is 24,000 square kilometers and supports a diverse and luxuriant fauna of fish and invertebrates.The vibrant, clear and rich colors are one of the first things that visitors notice when they arrive. Noumea has a complete range of hotels, resorts, restaurants, and activities to welcome visitors.

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